The reason for all of this surfaced in Ina’s mind, but she had no time to react. She could only instinctively raise her hand to summon the Moon Elf’s signature magic shield, bright and pure like moonlight, doing her best to prevent the vines from creeping up her calves and restricting her movements.
For now, she could only rely on the Forest Elf teammate beside her. As an elite member of the field team, York would surely make the right call…
“You think I didn’t notice your little trick (Elven Language)?”
The human girl’s voice rang out from behind her, and an indescribable sense of danger was born from the shadow at her back.
Ina opened her mouth, wanting to warn York about the shadow behind him, but a gust of frigid air hit her before she could speak. She could only watch in stunned silence as the Forest Elf, who had been about to release magic to help free her, was engulfed by that chill.
It was ice-attribute magic power, just like hers, yet far more agile and substantial.
Underhanded tactics, rapid successive spellcasting, all of it made her realize they had been far too careless.
Their opponent’s combat instincts and strength were far above theirs.
Just as she sensed the flow of magic power, York hadn’t even managed to focus his mind and magic to help her against the vine spell when, in the next second, his legs were frozen in place by the human girl’s ice magic.
Then, that dark and dangerous “shadow” doubled back once more, and the vines already coiled around her calves suddenly erupted with fire-attribute magic power that made her body tremble slightly. What kind of bizarre magic was this?
Before she could puzzle out the mechanism of that spell, a finely crafted dagger was pressed against her neck, its razor-sharp aura threatening to sever the very hairs standing on end.
“What, still not admitting defeat?”
The human girl’s voice sounded beside her ear, a warm breath brushing past her earlobe. Humiliated and flustered, Ina finally suppressed her emotions and let out a sigh.
“We lose.”
With that, she dropped all of her defenses and allowed the vines to crawl up her calves, restricting her movements.
If the enemy had wanted to kill them, they could have done so just now. She didn’t even know whether the human girl, who had subdued both her and York so effortlessly, had used her full strength. No wonder the Priest always told them that there is always someone stronger, and she was seeing it for the first time in someone her own age.
Ye Xingyao smiled as she released her, twirling the dagger in her hand once before wiping it against the hem of her skirt, and the blade vanished once more.
Her reason for threatening Ina with the dagger was actually simple: she couldn’t be bothered to waste words with that Forest Elf boy who didn’t seem too bright. At least this one seemed slightly more reasonable, probably.
“I… we… just lost like that?”
York stared in disbelief at his legs. The biting cold was steadily sapping his body heat. He tried to move his legs, only to realize in despair that they were frozen solid to the ground beneath him.
“Who… who exactly are you?”
“Me? Take a guess! Not telling you~”
The victorious Ye Xingyao was in a wonderful mood. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at them, looking every bit the lively human girl, as if the shadow-dwelling, killing-intent-wielding figure from moments ago had never been her at all.
Watching this, Yi Lin couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She knew that Xingyao’s Star Elf Ability was only at the Light-Containing Level, and she knew that the girl had already mastered the “Elven Language Magic” her father had researched. Even so, she hadn’t been entirely confident in the little one.
After all, Ina was called “Captain” by York. They were among the cream of the crop in this younger generation of the Elf Race, which was precisely why the Priest had entrusted them with this task.
Of course, the biggest reason was still that the Priest had calculated that she wouldn’t deign to harm these young ones. Even if they were driven back, the worst-case scenario would still be that they delivered her message.
But even so, Xingyao’s combat instincts were more than a full level above those two youngsters. Heaven only knew what she had been through to become so ruthless, executing her tactics without leaving a single opening.
Was this what it meant to be a true Midnight-level Hunter?
Yi Shiyue nudged Yi Lin with her shoulder, flashing a sweet smile, like a child showing off her wonderful partner to an elder.
Yi Lin lightly tapped her on the forehead in exasperation. Really, was she that happy?
Fumier kept a smile on her face the whole time. From the very beginning, she had never doubted that her Star Elf sister would win.
Someone who could wield such powerful magic and take down the Forest Elves causing trouble at school with a single strike, how could Xingyao possibly lose to those two?
She had only caught a distant glimpse of that towering, flame-wreathed greatsword back then, but that heroic figure had lingered in her heart ever since.
“Gur, I lost. Kill me or torture me… do as you please!”
Ina gritted her teeth and spat out her concession as a loser, then turned her head away, unwilling to look at the human girl who had bested her.
But a loss was a loss. Even if it felt humiliating, she could only blame her own lack of strength. From now on, she would definitely get her revenge on this person!
“I wasn’t planning on doing anything to you anyway. Alright, if there’s nothing else, we’re heading back for dinner, and maybe I’ll find out what all this is about. You can walk on your own, right? I didn’t restrict your movements. As for that boy over there… he can stand there and think about his choices for a while.”
Without looking back, Ye Xingyao walked toward the entrance, casually patting Fumier’s head on the way, then tilted her chin up at Yi Shiyue and Yi Lin as if seeking praise, just like a tsundere ragdoll cat.
Yi Lin shook her head helplessly. She truly hadn’t expected so much to happen today, but judging by the results, things had turned out fairly well. Still, she had to remind them:
“We should drive back soon. Don’t stay here too long. In a little while, more elves will come looking for them.”
“Don’t bother. Our people already destroyed your car.” Ina, following behind them, heard their plan and couldn’t help speaking up.
Immediately, she felt three dangerous gazes bearing down on her. She shrank her neck and quickly added:
“No, no, it wasn’t me! It was the team members… they decided on their own. I only found out about it afterward.”
Ye Xingyao frowned, looking at her gloomy face, pursed her lips, and let out a sigh that was equal parts annoyed and amused.
“Grandmother Yi Lin, are all elves here like this?”
It seemed these people had never intended to let them leave in the first place.
“…To some extent, yes.”
Even though Yi Lin didn’t want Xingyao to have to deal with these elves, she also didn’t want the Star Elf to form too poor an impression of the Elf Race. Unfortunately, the arrogance of the nearby elves and their similar behavior were simply facts.