Iyue sprinted… her mouth silently chanting an incantation.
Magic Power surged, her emerald-green Soul Color flickering constantly before clinging to her entire body.
-Ilya—where are you going—
This was Wind Magic used for speed enhancement. While this spell was active, her speed was faster than a galloping stallion.
She burst out of the village and ran toward her family’s woodland… leaving the villagers’ shouts far behind.
Iyue had lived for over 400 years. Like the rest of her long-lived kin, her mind had inevitably trended toward peace and indifference.
But that did not mean she had become a person without joy or sorrow. The calmer the surface of the lake, the more violent the undercurrents hidden beneath.
She knew the villagers had changed—they had abandoned the tradition of living in trees and moved into these human-style houses that were more comfortable and convenient.
They had also discarded the tranquility slowly accumulated over the years, becoming as overly emotional as humans—
She felt that all of this was fine. The treehouses of the past were indeed not as solid or comfortable as the houses they lived in now.
Becoming more passionate and pursuing profit like humans was not necessarily a bad thing.
Because life was driven by ceaseless desire. Positive emotions like happiness and joy were also stronger that way, making one feel more blessed… There was nothing wrong with an Elf living like a human.
She could accept that these villagers, whom she had known since childhood and who had looked after her and her mother, had become profit-driven, their smiles fake, and more human-like… but she could not accept that these people she once trusted would betray her in such a sickening way!
“Right, right, and everyone in the village agreed to it.”
Back then, they had also unanimously agreed not to accept her father… which was why her family had to build their house in the woods, far from the center of the village.
“The specifics of this… the Village Chief knows better. You should let him tell you himself when you see him.”
They knew the Village Chief had sold that woodland. They were likely even present when the contract was signed and the profits distributed.
She had lived in the village for centuries, and an Elf’s lifespan was over 1,000 years… She had only been gone for a mere nineteen years, yet these people had already judged that “Ilya is dead.”
Was it because she had left during the Great War with a human man, a human soldier, that they made such a judgment?
They believed she had died in the Great War along with that human man, and then they comfortably disposed of everything that had belonged to her, her father, and her mother—
“BULLSHIT… BULLSHIT…!”
She uttered her first profanity in this life… because she felt an extreme, overwhelming rage.
“Hah… hah…!”
Lian followed desperately behind Iyue, panting heavily.
Because Iyue was using magic, Lian could barely keep up with her… If she relaxed for even a second, she would lose sight of Iyue’s back.
It was an incredibly difficult feat to keep up with Iyue’s magic using pure physical ability… but Lian did not shout things like “wait for me”… because she knew Iyue must be burning with anxiety right now.
As the two passed through a barren forest path with clear signs of logging on both sides, Iyue heard a rhythmic clanging sound coming from not far away.
Her steps stopped at the edge of the woods, and the wind swirling around her dissipated as the spell’s effect ended.
Ahead was a clearing. A corner of the surrounding forest had already been neatly felled.
Stumps were exposed to the air, the cuts looking fresh, and the marks of dragged logs were clearly carved into the ground.
Her home was on the edge of the clearing… It was a small log cabin, and the house was intact.
However, human loggers in uniforms could be seen working around the house and the surrounding forest.
From time to time, their strenuous shouts echoed through the woods, along with the dull thuds of wedges and Axe blades biting into stumps and trunks.
“…”
Iyue watched blankly as the trees were felled, their trunks collapsing into the foliage.
But she quickly shook off that daze. She ran toward the place where her father and mother were… That place wasn’t far; she just had to pass through one more small patch of trees.
“Hey… who are you? Work is being done here, please do not approach.”
She finally reached the patch of woods where the ancient tree her mother had become stood.
A guard with a rifle slung over his shoulder walked over, blocking her path.
She saw the small tombstone still standing at the foot of her mother’s tree… She breathed a sigh of relief.
“This tree is huge… are we really cutting it? I heard that these exceptionally large ones in the Sea of Trees, the ones 10 stories high, are formed from dead Elves. We shouldn’t be allowed to cut trees like this, right?”
She saw people recording and measuring in front of her mother… She heard them talking.
“This tree isn’t as big as the ones you’re talking about. It’s only about a circle larger than the trees where those treehouses we dismantled were. Besides, the Elves in the village didn’t say there were any trees we couldn’t cut, did they? Hurry up and mark it.”
“I still think we should at least ask the Village Chief…”
One of the workers wearing glasses held a charcoal pencil, looking hesitant as he faced a tall logger carrying an Axe.
“Ask for what!” the tall logger shouted impatiently. “It’s not like we haven’t cut trees this size before! If we delay any longer, the foreman will deduct our pay when he gets back! If you won’t do it, I will!”
With that, he snatched the charcoal pencil from the glasses-wearing worker’s hand. Using his experience, he determined where the Axe should fall and prepared to make the mark—
BANG!
Compared to the sound of Axes and wedges, the crisp sound of a gunshot was startlingly abrupt.
“Ah!”
The charcoal pencil, along with the fingers holding it, flew from the worker’s hand.
He let out a short scream, clutching his wrist as he stumbled back and fell to the ground… His blood poured from the wound of his severed fingers, dripping onto the soil near the tree roots.
“Everyone, get away from that tree immediately.”
Iyue’s voice was low… but it reached the ears of every worker present with chilling clarity.
She had used Magic Power.
It all happened too fast; the loggers clearly hadn’t reacted yet. The worker with glasses stared blankly at his companion moaning on the ground, then turned toward Iyue—
What emerged from the eyes staring back at him was a grim, quiet fury… He felt as if he were being gazed upon by death itself.
“Eek… EEK…!”
He let out an incoherent scream and fled in a panic… Meanwhile, the workers gathered around the Great Tree who were not being watched by the “Jade Reaper” had not yet realized the gravity of the situation—
“That Elf… she fired a gun?”
“Guard… what are you standing there for!”
“You woman…!”
The guard who had blocked Iyue’s path hadn’t even seen her draw her weapon.
Only after hearing the workers’ urging did he realize what had happened. He roared and prepared to aim his rifle at Iyue—
“I repeat, everyone get away from that tree immediately.”
“Huh…?”
Before he could react, the guard’s vision flipped upside down. He didn’t even have time to finish his movement before his jaw hit the ground hard, knocking him unconscious.
At the same time, the gunshot rang out again, and a shell casing tumbled next to Iyue’s boot.
“Ugh…!”
The dirt in front of the workers’ toes exploded, splashing mud and grass clippings onto their faces.
They looked down blankly and found a significant crater had appeared before them.
“This is the final warning. Get out of here now.”
The workers showed expressions of terror, dropping their tools and scattering in all directions… but they didn’t forget to drag away their colleague whose finger had been shot off.
“What’s going happened?! I heard gunshots—”
Soon, the area around the tree was empty. But in the next moment, footsteps came from the other side of the woods.
“I-Ilya…”
“—What is going on here?”
Lian finally arrived, panting for breath. A group of armed guards also quickly approached from all sides of the woods.
They seemed to have been stationed throughout the forest for security and hurried over upon hearing the shots.
“What is the Guard doing! This Elf woman shot someone!”
The workers logging other trees had long since stopped their work, huddling together and hiding behind the guards.
“Ilya… you fired a shot?”
“Lian, stay back.”
After answering Lian, Iyue pulled her gun and fired. Her bullets accurately struck every weapon that was about to be raised and pointed at her—
“Ah… my gun!”
Wood splinters flew and metal deformed. In an instant, the weapons of over a dozen guards were either destroyed or dropped as they were hit by bullets.
“This woman…! There are so many of us, pounce on her and grab her! Don’t give her another chance to fire!”
The guards’ faces turned shades of blue and red… They decided to use their numerical advantage to subdue Iyue.
They drew the knives and clubs from their waists and rushed forward.
“And that girl! That girl is the Elf’s accomplice too!”
“Eh…?”
Several men also pounced toward Lian… It seemed her previous conversation with Iyue had led them to that conclusion.
“Come on, then.”
Seeing someone picking a fight, Lian smiled slightly. Facing the two guards rushing her, she didn’t retreat.
Instead, she stepped forward half a pace toward one of them.
She reached out with her left hand, precisely grabbing the opponent’s swinging wrist while simultaneously twisting with his momentum—the guard’s center of gravity instantly collapsed.
At the same time, she leaned in for a shoulder check, knocking him over in a single breath.
The other guard was both surprised and enraged. He swung his club in a horizontal sweep toward her face.
Lian ducked accordingly, and while dodging the attack, her toe hooked the opponent’s front leg.
Using his forward momentum, she pulled and tripped him—
“Ah! …Damn it…! You brat!”
The man’s feet went out from under him, and he lost his balance, falling heavily onto the mud as his iron club flew away.
In a rage, he pulled a handgun from his waist and fired at Lian’s head, but she lightly tilted her body to the side, dodging it.
“I can react to bullets, big brother.”
Facing the dumbfounded guard, Lian gave a sweet smile and then kicked the handgun out of his hand.
Iyue used Wind Magic to move at high speed through the woods.
She fired her gun, but only to destroy weapons or interrupt movements. Occasionally, a guard tried to grab her at close range… but they were thrown or knocked down with movements that seemed impossible.
“What the hell are these two women!”
The guards could not understand what was happening… As a security force carefully selected by the company, they were unable to subdue even two women… and were even being shown mercy at every turn!
“Pick up your guns and fire together! I don’t believe they can dodge all of them—”
“Hey, why are you being so unreasonable? We’ve already shown mercy.”
Lian stepped on the hand of a guard trying to pick up his pistol, then kicked him over. She then picked up the handgun and looked at the side of the barrel—
“Manufactured by Clausel Company…?”
The words engraved on the gun were incredibly familiar.
“Stop!” she shouted loudly. “You’re from the Clausel Company, right? This is a misunderstanding!”
But the guards, blinded by rage, were in no mood to listen. They gritted their teeth and crawled up, determined to return the humiliation they had suffered—
If this continued, she would probably have to dislocate a few of their arms and break a few of their bones to resolve it.
Just as Lian was thinking this, more guards arrived from the forest path, led by a middle-aged man who appeared to be the person in charge… They quickly surrounded Lian and Iyue.
In an instant, dozens of guns were pointed at them. Seeing the two stop their movements, the man in charge stepped forward.
“Who are you people? How dare you cause trouble here!”
“This is a misunderstanding.” Lian glanced at Iyue, and Iyue nodded slightly at her.
“Look at this!”
Lian took Iyue’s handgun, grabbed it by the barrel, and handed it to the man in charge.
The man stared at the gun for a moment, his expression changing slightly.
“It’s the company’s engraving… but what does that prove? The company’s weapons can be bought with enough money. You think you can pretend to be company employees with just that? A company employee who starts by shooting our worker and blowing off his finger?”
Lian saw the worker with the severed finger shivering among the guards… It seemed these workers had run for reinforcements during the fight.
Seeing him still acting so hostile, Lian felt incredibly confused.
“It seems his rank isn’t high enough. You should take out the bead.”
Lian had no choice but to take out the Communication Pearl and hand it to Iyue. Iyue injected her Magic Power into it.
“What are you trying to do…!”
Seeing the two take out a strange item, the guards and the manager instantly became tense. Lian glanced at them and explained casually:
“Relax. I’m calling someone from your company.”
After a short while, the mist in the pearl dissipated… Melia’s figure appeared within it. As soon as she saw Lian, she smiled happily:
“My, my… isn’t it still broad daylight? My Lian wants to act spoiled this early—”
“Melia.”
Lian held the pearl and turned in a circle.
“Hmm? Such a serious expression… and so many people around… they look like company employees? Did you find a company branch?”
“No. As for what exactly happened, let this person explain it to you.”
Lian held the pearl in front of the manager.
“What… is this some kind of Illusion? What tricks are you playing?”
Seeing the person inside the pearl, the manager wore an expression of disbelief.
“Hmm, that uniform he’s wearing is from the Forestry Development Division… I see, I see. His rank really isn’t high enough.”
Melia glanced at him, then studied his expression… showing a look of sudden realization.
“What exactly is…”
“This isn’t a trick. This is a long-range communication tool—hello, I am Melia Clausel… Although this is our first time meeting, you should recognize me, right?”
Melia smiled from inside the pearl at the manager… and the manager’s face instantly turned as pale as ash.
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