Mythical Creatures Strategy Guide

Audrey ignored her and continued, "Those white-dressed fairies did nothing. They just stood in the trees and watched the scouts leave. When the scouts returned, they said that the eyes of those fairies didn't seem like those of living people."

She put away the map: "I don't dare to mobilize too many people; Cat Territory has only just stabilized. So I only brought Nightclaw, along with the hunters and scouts on the outskirts of the forest."

Chu Sheng looked at the room full of cat-like assassins. Some of them were squatting on the wall beams, some were leaning against the windows, and some were using small knives to pick silver threads out of the cracks in the floor. They looked lazy and casual, but their movements were clean and efficient.

"So you managed to sneak all the way to the roof of the Queen's bedroom?"

The black leopard cat-man corrected, "It's not 'touching,' it's 'infiltrating.'"

Arthur looked at Audrey: "Where are those white-dressed fairies outside?"

"The hunters and scouts are watching," Audrey said. "They're not behaving properly; don't kill them yet."

"They are not the royal elves," Amber said softly. "At least, they are not the ones I know anymore."

Chu Sheng stood up, supporting himself on Ella's shoulders, and finally remembered what he had been risking his life to do.

"Everyone," he said, holding up the keys in his hand, "I still have a limited-time mission that I haven't unlocked yet."

He took two steps toward the bed and suddenly felt that all eyes were on him from all directions.

Arthur leaned on his holy sword, his ahoge standing on end; Audrey crossed her arms over her chest, her cat ears twitching slightly; Silver Leaf stood to the side, watching the show with a knowing expression.

Ella crouched at the foot of the bed, wagging her tail rapidly, her face full of curiosity.

Chu Sheng forced a smile and said, "Could you please stop staring at me like that? I'm just unlocking a door, it's a standard procedure, suitable for all ages."

Amber smiled gently: "Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."

"Your Majesty, I'm a coward," Chu Sheng chuckled dryly. "How could I possibly be worthy of being called an 'elder'? Just call me Little Chu."

Amber said calmly, "You weren't so timid when you were hiding under my blanket last night."

The palace fell silent; even the cat-man assassins stopped wiping their knives.

Arthur slowly raised his head: "The blanket?"

Audrey narrowed her eyes: "That night?"

Yinye's eyes widened: "When did you two...?"

Ella raised her hand anxiously: "So you really want to mate with Chu Sheng! I want to too!"

"No, let me explain!" Chu Sheng was sweating profusely. "That was an infiltration mission! Infiltration, you understand? I was on a very important mission. There were pursuers in front of me, windows behind me, no under-bed, no closet. If I hesitated for even a second, I would have been captured and made to grow potted plants!"

Arthur said expressionlessly, "So you chose the blanket."

Chu Sheng nodded sadly: "That's life. Sometimes you have to choose one when there are no other options."

Audrey said softly, "That sounds tough."

Amber looked at his sweaty appearance, a smile appearing in her eyes. She raised her wrist, the chains jingling: "Open this one first."

Chu Sheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly went over to unlock the door.

Amber's wrist was finally free. She moved her fingers and gently touched Chu Sheng's hand with her fingertips: "Thank you."

Chu Sheng shrank back reflexively, and the Holy Sword, Cat Eye, Dog Eye, Gray Elf Eye, and Catman Assassin's Bagua Eye on his back lit up at the same time.

The second lock was on the other wrist. Chu Sheng went around to the side of the bed and just as he lowered his head, An Bowen naturally offered her hand. Her fingers were long and slender, and her palm was slightly cool.

Arthur coughed, and Amber looked at her: "Miss Arthur, is your throat bothering you?"

"No," Arthur replied curtly.

The second lock opened, and after Amber's hands were freed, several tender leaves sprouted from the cracks under the bed and gently unfurled.

She whispered, "And the ankle."

The ankle locks were more troublesome than the wrist locks. Silver chains looped around the bedposts and fastened to Amber's left and right ankles. Her long dress was held down by the chains, revealing a small section of her fair, slender calves.

Chu Sheng looked away: "This angle isn't very good."

Amber asked, "What's wrong?"

Chu Sheng looked at Arthur, and Arthur looked back at him. He then looked at Audrey, who tilted her head slightly. Finally, he looked at Ella, who had a broken silver chain in her mouth and was wagging her tail happily.

Chu Sheng squatted down at the foot of the bed, trying his best to keep his eyes on the keyhole.

Amber gently lifted her left foot, the silver chain straightened, and the keyhole was hidden just inside her ankle.

Chu Sheng stared at the keyhole, his movements even more cautious than when defusing a bomb.

Just as the key was inserted, Amber suddenly whispered, "You were just as nervous last night."

"Your Majesty!" Chu Sheng nearly dropped the key. "You are the Elf Queen, not a succubus!"

Amber blinked. "You've seen a succubus?"

Arthur asked suspiciously, "You know a lot about succubi?"

"I have a little knowledge of it," Chu Sheng said seriously. "The theoretical school, pure theory."

Silverleaf crossed her arms and couldn't help but interject, "Could you please let the Queen out first? There are still thousands of things outside that I don't even know if they can be considered elves."

Chu Sheng nodded vigorously: "Yinye is right! Broaden your horizons! Don't keep focusing on me, this honest guy!"

Yinye was taken aback by the praise: "Well, not really."

Before she could finish speaking, the lock on her ankle was unlocked, and the last waist lock was quickly released as well.

Click, the silver chain fell to the side of the bed. From then on, Amber was no longer bound by chains.

The entire palace trembled slightly at that moment, and Amber slowly stood up.

She was much taller than Chu Sheng, with long, light golden hair falling from her shoulders. Her white dress was a little disheveled, but her back was very straight.

"Ahem." Chu Sheng dared not look at the fully-formed Amber An any longer, afraid he would lose control, and coughed lightly, saying, "What about those outside?"

Amber's expression finally turned cold. She walked to the broken window and looked down.

Outside the palace, a large number of white-dressed elves still stood. Most of them had stopped moving; some had their heads down, some were leaning against tree trunks, and some were tied up with ropes by the cat-man hunters. The silence was eerie.

A true royal court should not be like this.

Chu Sheng went to the window, frowned, and asked, "What exactly are they?"

Audrey looked at the white figures below: "They don't resemble shapeshifters. No matter how perfect a shapeshifter's mimicry is, it will still retain the decaying aura of an undead creature, but these don't."

Arthur gripped the holy sword and said in a deep voice, "There is no record of such a magical beast in the empire."

Amber reached out, her fingertips touching the windowpane. Several thin vines emerged from the wall, slowly extending towards the nearest white-dressed elf. The white-dressed elf didn't react, letting the vines wrap around her wrist.

After a moment, Amber withdrew her hand: "The Sacred Tree doesn't recognize them."

Chu Sheng didn't understand: "What do you mean?"

"The Royal Elves are all children of the Sacred Tree," Amber said. "Even in death, the Sacred Tree remembers their names. But these people have no names, no memory of their birth, and no sign of returning to their roots."

She looked at the mortar on the ground: "The sacred tree said they never existed."

Chu Sheng felt a chill run down his spine: "What about the original elf?"

After a long silence, Amber finally said softly, "I don't know."

"So the current situation is," Chu Sheng rubbed his temples, "that thousands of fake elves are surrounding the royal court, the sacred tree is unrecognizable, the empire has no record of it, and the only one who looked like a leader has turned into a pile of mud."

Ella squatted down next to the puddle of mortar, sniffed it, and said, "It stinks, like poop."

Chu Sheng pointed at her: "This clue is important, but you don't need to be so specific next time."

"Oh." Ella obediently took two steps back.

Yinye had been squatting by the plaster since earlier, reaching out her hand and then pulling it back, as if afraid of touching something dirty.

Seeing this, the black leopard cat-man handed her a long, thin silver needle.

Yinye was taken aback: "For me?"

The black leopard cat-man nodded: "Meow."

Yinye thanked her softly, took the silver needle, and gently touched the edge of the plaster.

She brought the silver needle close to her nose, then immediately moved it away in disgust.

"This thing..."

Everyone turned to look at her.

Yinye's shoulders twitched, and she suddenly realized that everyone in the room was staring at her.

"Um..." She bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and then slowly raised her hand. "I think I can sense the presence of a grey elf on this."