In this battle, 11,342 Elves had been wounded, more than three thousand of them severely.
Fendona's spirits sank as she thought of the 2,719 who had fallen.
Even though this casualty ratio was already an unprecedented miracle.
More than twenty-seven hundred vibrant lives had still been lost forever.
The joy of victory was instantly muted by a heavy grief.
She waved the squad leader away and silently gazed at the mountain of Demon Clan corpses in the enormous pit in the distance, soon to be buried. For a long time, she said nothing.
After death, Elves returned to the embrace of the Goddess of Nature, while the Demon Clan's remains became nourishment for the World Tree.
"Screee-"
Just then, a piercing eagle cry rang out from above.
A magnificent Hippogriff landed in the clearing. A Royal Messenger swung down, hurried over to Fendona, and knelt on one knee.
Behind the messenger, dozens of Hippogriffs and Griffins slowly descended, carrying dozens of wooden crates.
"Your Highness! A personal letter from Her Majesty the Queen, and the first shipment of reinforcements and supplies!"
Fendona perked up and hurriedly accepted the letter.
On the paper, the Queen's elegant yet forceful handwriting lavishly praised the victory as "a miracle worthy of going down in history."
She also expressed her desire to meet Lin Mo, hoping Fendona could invite him to Aivinol.
At the end of the letter, the Queen wrote with added emphasis:
"Be sure to convey, on my behalf, the Elves' highest respect to our honored guest from another world, Lord Lin Mo."
"He is the most brilliant starlight our people have seen in the darkness. He has earned the friendship of the Elves."
"As a token of our gratitude, he may be rewarded with a Life Fruit!"
Fendona was slightly startled when she read this.
She's actually rewarding him with a Life Fruit?
But... she reconsidered.
Without Lord Lin Mo and the people supporting him, Lothia City might already have fallen.
At that thought, relief washed over her, and she felt that Lin Mo deserved such a reward.
She put away the letter, stepped forward, and opened the wooden crates the Elves had just unloaded.
Inside were a total of eight hundred brand-new Compound Bows and eight hundred Repeating Crossbows, along with tens of thousands of matching bolts and arrows.
They gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, but to Fendona, that was unmistakably the light of hope.
The surrounding Elves erupted with excitement!
"Wonderful! With these divine weapons, the Demon Clan will no longer be a threat. We'll be able to protect our home!"
"Haha! With these bows and crossbows, plus the ones we're making ourselves, any demons who come again won't leave alive!"
"Praise the God of Nature! Praise our wise Queen!"
They crowded around in a frenzy, exclaiming in delight.
They caressed these "divine weapons," which had just displayed their incredible power on the battlefield, as tenderly as they would a lover.
Her mood much improved, Fendona glanced in Lin Mo's direction, then went home to fetch a box.
She then rode a Griffin to the top of the World Tree, which was closely guarded by the Elders, before flying back down.
She approached Lin Mo and said:
"Lord Lin Mo."
Lin Mo extricated himself from a group of adoring female Elves.
"What is it, Your Highness?"
With great solemnity, Fendona took a small box wrapped in moonlight silk from inside her clothing.
"Her Majesty the Queen has sent a letter inviting you to visit Aivinol when you have time!"
"And to thank you for helping us, she has specially prepared a small token of appreciation. I hope you'll like it!"
Lin Mo smiled and said:
"It was nothing. It's only right that we help each other."
Fendona slowly opened the box.
A fruit the size of an egg lay quietly inside, emerald green all over, radiating a soft glow and an immense aura of life.
The instant the fruit appeared, even the surrounding air seemed to have been cleansed.
Lin Mo's eyes widened.
"This... what is this?"
"This is a Life Fruit, a treasure of which the World Tree produces only a few every thousand years."
"Even the nobles of the Holy Human Race and the leaders of other races long for one but cannot obtain it!"
After her introduction, Fendona studied Lin Mo with an odd expression and said:
"I've noticed that your constitution seems... somewhat frail. Presumably, that's because human bodies differ from ours."
She chose her words carefully, afraid of hurting the pride of the man who had done so much for them.
"Eating this Life Fruit will not only double your lifespan, but completely transform your body!"
"It will also greatly improve your physical capabilities and ability to recover from injuries. From then on, you'll be immune to all illnesses."
Double my lifespan!
Completely transform my body!
Immune to all illnesses?
Any one of those promises alone could set off a bloodbath!
Lin Mo's breathing instantly quickened, and his heart pounded wildly.
Wasn't this exactly like a top-grade immortal pill from a cultivation novel?!
On Blue Star, he was just a debt-ridden corporate drone with a worn-out body. Forget extending his lifespan-he would have to count himself blessed just to live until retirement.
Now, right before him sat a divine fruit that could give him several more decades of life, with a super-gene buff thrown in!
I've hit the jackpot! The jackpot!
If Qin Shi Huang were here, wouldn't he give me half his empire for this thing?
So, if I could bring this back to Blue Star...
An incredibly bold idea began growing wildly in his mind.
I'll take it back for Academician Qian and the others to study!
If they could analyze its composition, even if they only managed to replicate a watered-down version...
Wouldn't Great Xia's average life expectancy shoot straight up to two hundred?
Because he had suffered himself, he knew how hard life was for ordinary people.
He... wanted to offer everyone shelter from the rain.
And with this, we could launch a nationwide super-soldier program on the spot and unite all of Blue Star!
Let the likes of Eagle Country and Jing Country go to hell!
At that thought, his heart blazed with excitement.
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